Margaret DeRitter

The Charisma of Cities

New York traffic makes me long for sex,
and diesel fumes take me back to when

I turned sixteen and yearned
to cross the great gray bridge

to the Henry Hudson Parkway, drive
down Greenwich Village streets or ride

the Staten Island Ferry for a dime—or nickel?—
I can’t remember which it was back then.

But I can feel the breeze that rounded
Ellis Island as I longed for Liberty’s folds.

How can cities hold such sex appeal?
Or make me want to shed my ancient skin?

O, Adolescence! Take me to my first
French restaurant—escargot and pinot noir.

Twirl on skates past the great gold statue,
Prometheus, bringer of fire.

Kneel on St. Patrick’s benches. Ride with me
for hours aboard the Circle Line,

past the harp strings of the Brooklyn Bridge,
the curving contours of the U.N. building,

a world of flags waving to me on the East River
as the boat threads its way around Manhattan

to the rocky cliffs of the Palisades,
the lightning rod of the Empire State Building.

Margaret DeRitter is the author of the full-length poetry collection Singing Back to the Sirens (Unsolicited Press, 2020). She lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and serves as copy editor and poetry editor of Encore, a regional feature magazine.